Sunday, 24 May 2015

Is Intrinsic Motivation more Important than Extrinsic Motivation?” ―Professor M.S.Rao

“Managers do not motivate employees by
giving them higher wages, more benefits or new status symbols. Rather,
employees are motivated by their own inherent need to succeed at a challenging
task. The manager’s job then is not to motivate people to get them to achieve;
instead, the manager should provide opportunities for people to achieve so they
will become motivated.” ―Frederick Herzberg

There are two types of motivation –
intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes
within the individuals to perform well while the extrinsic motivation comes
from external support. Some individuals have inner power to grow while some
need external power to grow. All individuals need these two types of
motivation. The individuals with very high will power also get upset in some
situations. Hence, they depend on external influence and support. When we look
at several great leaders they were influenced by their mentors, coaches, gurus
and guides. At the same time, these leaders have fire within them to grow. Some
leaders have X factor that drives them to move forward.

DeAnne Rosenberg in her book Management's Fatal Flaw distinguishes
between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation with examples as follows: the
extrinsic motivators are: salary, benefits package, working conditions, company
policies & rules, supervision, security and interpersonal relations. The
intrinsic motivators are: challenge, achievement, recognition for achievement,
interest in the job, responsibility for the work, personal & career growth
and promotion & advancement.

Passion
and Intrinsic Motivation

"The man who does not work for
the love of work but only for money is not likely to neither make money nor
find much fun in life." ―Charles M. Schwab

There are people who work to earn
recognition and rewards from others which indicates extrinsic motivation. In
contrast, there are people who work to please themselves regardless of rewards
and recognition which indicates intrinsic motivation.Coon & Mitterer said, "Intrinsic
motivation occurs when we act without any obvious external rewards. We simply
enjoy an activity or see it as an opportunity to explore, learn, and actualize
our potentials."Those who are
passionate about have intrinsic motivation because they do what they love to
do. They don’t do activities to please others. They do to please themselves and
to unlock their potential. They don’t look for rewards from others. Leaders like Abraham Lincoln and George
Washington had intrinsic motivation. They were unmoved by shocks and setbacks. They moved forward because they did what they
were passionate about due to their intrinsic motivation.

Does
Money Motivate Employees?

"Money was never a big motivation
for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the
game." ―Donald Trump

Money does play a crucial role to
motivate employees to some extent. But what motivates employees is undertaking challenging
roles and responsibilities to bring out the best and enhance their confidence
levels to grow as leaders.DeAnne Rosenberg
in her book Management's Fatal Flaw
asserts that although extrinsic constraints (such as the promise of a reward
upon completion) seem to increase performance in the short run, in the long
run, they kill an individual’s interest in the work and make it impossible for
him/her to approach the task creatively ever again.

Conclusion

“Choose a job you love, and you will
never have to work a day in your life.” ―Confucius

It is essential to work for your
satisfaction first and then for the satisfaction of others. You must provide
meaning to your life first to provide meaning to others’ lives. Don’t do what
others do. Do what you are passionate about. To conclude, emphasize intrinsic
motivation rather than extrinsic motivation to unlock your potential to grow as
leader and provide meaning to your life.

"The only lifelong, reliable
motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those
is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you've just done something as
well as you can do it." ―Lloyd Dobens and Clare Crawford-Mason

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